The Merila Theory
Who is Fox's mother? The most prevailing mystery to the Fox series to date, despite the two episodes that peeled a layer to Fox's origins, a mystery that had been filling the heads of Xavier Haven's readers since 2011, we only learned that her mother had been killed by Rath shortly after she had let Fox go to travel to Trobathia (The Real World) so she would be safe. But then Merila appeared. Yes, she is also played by the same actress but the show re-uses actors to play different characters the same way American Horror Story re-uses actors within the same season. So the possibility of Janelle Garcia playing a completely different character is very high yet there were so many clues left behind in both seasons! Yes, even season one- however, before we can come to a conclusion we need to ask ourselves a few questions: 1.) What is the overarching point in the season? 2.) Which characters already know Fox's mother? 3.) What scenes add up to a plausible conclusion? So what is the overarching point in the season? Is it Fox's journey to becoming the Chosen One? Was it when Daisy chose Fox over Brian? What moves the season along from beginning to end? The answer: her mother. The first person we see in the season is Eve and it could be argued that she is the cause for the invasion of Rath since as we proceed with the story, we learn that he was desperately in love with her only to be rejected. She later married his brother, Jaul, which is what initiated Rath's uproar in the first place. Eve gave birth to Fox and sent her to Trobathia. Shortly after, Rath kills her just before he discovers that she had given birth to a daughter, otherwise known as the Chosen One set out to fulfill a prophecy but that's another theory for another day. It was this discovery that made Rath challenge Jaul to a duel. This duel holds more meaning than you probably thought but I'll get into that later. Throughout the season, Fox constantly brings up her parents and that she never met them and doesn't know why they gave her up but she specifically described a memory of her mother. "When I was younger I used to dream about this person. A woman. She tells me she loves then she calls me her little fox." Although she doesn't know it yet, we know from the first episode that it is indeed her mother and that's why she named herself, Fox. So there is obviously some significant reason why Fox is more connected to her mother than her father. Our next question: which characters know her mother? Shevan is obviously one of those characters. He tells Fox that her parents are dead. He also tells Daisy that when he explains Fox's backstory. Jaul returns in the finale to help Fox, so we can put him on the list. Rath is also a character that knows who she is and even went so far to describe Fox by saying, "She's like her mother. So much like her." The most interesting thing about that scene and probably a gigantic clue is that following that statement, Shevan looks at Merila. I know what you're thinking, "Did I read all this just to be told that Merila is Fox's mother?" No, you're reading this for an explanation as to why she is Fox's mother and a possible explanation as to how. Going back to the Rath vs. Jaul duel, Merila's musical theme suddenly begins as we focus on her dead body and the dagger she was killed with. The first official episode we see Merila in is when Rath orders Regulation 66. She is examining the same dagger. It is also safe to say that she fights with this dagger and takes care of it. Is it possible that she uses this dagger because it holds deep meaning? The meaning being, it was the dagger that killed her old self? If Rath really loved Eve, would he have killed her? Or would he have done something more dark and twisted to revive her or perhaps change her to fulfill his needs? Was the duel between Rath and Jaul actually the birth of Merila? How could this be? Merila is always seen wearing a vial of liquid called Dramon and is even reminded to visit the Dark One to refill it. When Rath discovers that Merila had met Fox, he got so angry that he began to beat her. When she suggested that she could finish Fox off, Rath says, "It's too risky. I can't lose you." You may have initially thought that he was referring to the possibility of her losing to Fox in battle but what if he meant something much deeper? What if it’s too risky because she could potentially begin to connect with her because she's her mother? Could this Dramon be controlling her? It could explain her behaviour and why she would need to continue to take it in order to be under the influence of Rath. It would also explain why she seems like a totally different person and why someone like Shevan would be too afraid to tell anyone. He could also be pulling an ‘Obi Wan Kenobi’ by telling everyone a “different point of view” like when he, Kenobi, told Luke that his father was dead when he really wasn’t but instead meant that Anakin Skywalker was dead, killed by Darth Vader (who is also the same person). A different point of view told to help the situation at hand. Could Fox really handle the thought of Merila being her mother at this point in her life? What scenes add up to this conclusion? The first time Fox is confronted by Merila we hear her speak. Her voice sounded slightly demonic, it also sounded that way when she told Jaul she loved him in Ohaplushlang at the very beginning- clearly indicating there was a transformation going on. When she realizes that Fox was loved by her foster parents, she took a second to process it. Why would a dangerous stranger care to give another second to the idea that Fox was loved in another world? A stranger wouldn't but a mother would. When Fox refused to kill her at the end of the fight, Merila didn't go after her but instead watched her run away with longing eyes. I should also note that her musical theme had changed to a more familiar one, one that can be heard in season one when Fox describes how dangerous Gan Adan can be to Mina. Could this be foreshadowing the dark events ahead? That like Gan Adan, Merila isn’t what she seems? In the next scene, she is going through Fox's bag and finds her box. When she opens it, she finds some of Fox's most prized possessions like her mask from season one, a picture given to her by a young Daisy and more importantly, the Drothka. She gives a very ambiguous look, she either recognizes it as Eve or she knows what kind of power it has and wants it for herself. This is important because she does not give it to Rath. Instead she gives him Fox's shoulder armor with the Hepti Kon Drath symbol. It is possible that she wants it for herself but that would diminish the Merila is Fox's mother theory and it also doesn't support her behaviour prior. It's more than likely that she kept the Drothka because that's what Rath was after in the beginning before he discovered the birth of Fox. It’s also what sent Fox to Trobathia. The mere fact that Fox had kept it all these years is exactly the kind of thing that could trigger a memory or a connection, the same connection that was clearly displayed in the last few shots of the season; Merila watches Jaul carry an injured and weak Fox away to safety. What does this mean if she is Fox's mother? For one, it means Fox's parents are alive and that she could possibly have a relationship with both of them. It also means that Fox may inherit her dark tendencies from her mother and her gallant traits from her father. But what I find more interesting is that if Merila is in fact her mother then it serves as an emotional platform that runs deeper than Fox and Daisy's love story because then Fox would eventually need to face her. Look at this as the female version of Luke Skywalker having to face his father, Darth Vader. If Merila is her mother and is fighting beside Rath, then Fox must eliminate her or turn her to the light, a very strong and active ingredient to a Chosen One story. It also gives the opportunity for Merila to seek redemption. I know you were hoping for some sort of verification but until we have something solid from the cast or crew, we're left theorizing possibilities but I think it’s safe to say that Fox's mother plays an important part to her journey as the Chosen One. Let’s all just hope that it's as logical and deep as the Merila theory.